Abbotts and Hendersons
Mary Ellen’s Travels
Mary Ellen’s travels took her from Farnworth to Newcastle and then back to Lancashire – Oldham. Children and descendants could still be found in these three towns after her death in 1932 – and much later.
Eldest child Annie Abbott lived in the village of Farnworth, Mary Ellen’s birthplace, and married Walter Taylor. She lived there until her death in 1967.
Eldest son James (Jim) Abbott moved to Newcastle and married Elizabeth Weddle. He died there in 1970.
The Henderson children lived in Oldham and on the coast in Formby and Blackpool.
Stan Howarth recalls several examples of the many family contacts:
“Mum and her sisters used to see each other quite frequently and they were always visiting us in Formby, so they had plenty to chat about with regards to family gossip.
I was 17 and had just passed my driving test & we visited Farnworth as kind of test drive for me. Unfortunately we got lost and my Mum was not best pleased with my first efforts, however a cup tea at your Nan’s seem to calm things down, and the return journey was more successful.
I used to stay with your Nan at 27 Gloucester Rd, and she used to come up and we played together, also we would push Les (Leslie Hayes, son of Nan’s youngest daughter Dorothy) around in his pram when Auntie Dorothy came round. I don’t suppose Les would remember that, him being only a baby. Your Mum (Minnie) was Nursing at that time during the War, but she, like all the other family members was in and out of your Nan’s almost every day. “
Mary Ellen had eight children in all:
Annie born in 1879, James in 1880, Hannah in 1890, Dorothy in 1892, Louise in 1894, Margaret in 1896, Ellis in 1900 and Ida in 1902.
Read more in the Abbott Family Tree 2016
Despite the wide age differences between Annie and Jim on the one hand and the Henderson children on the other, contacts were established between the two branches of the family and regular visits carried on long after the war by the next generation. I remember as a boy visiting family members in Formby in the mid-1950’s with my mother.